Bragging rights, again, which Florida State has held after each of the past two meetings, including a one-sided 45-17 romp in the Seminoles' last visit to Miami two years ago. Mostly, it's a chance for both teams to stay at or near the top of their respective divisions in the ACC. Florida State enters the weekend as one of four teams with one loss or less in the Atlantic, and Miami is one of four teams with one loss in the Coastal.

KEY MATCHUP

Florida State RB Chris Thompson vs. Miami's defense. Thompson is averaging 153 rushing and receiving yards in the Seminoles' last five games (getting more than 8 yards per touch in those situations). He's going up against a much-maligned Miami defense that's on pace to give up more yards and points than any team in school history, and one that saw its per-game average actually improve a bit last weekend by holding to North Carolina to 486 yards.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Florida State: QB EJ Manuel. There aren't many Florida State quarterbacks with two wins over Miami on their resumes, and Manuel could join that club this week. And the typically-accurate Manuel is sharper than ever in that department this year, completing 72 percent of his throws.

Miami: LB Denzel Perryman. For Miami to have its best chance of pulling off this upset, someone on the defensive side will have to make plays, and Perryman figures to be the top candidate there. The Hurricanes are hoping Perryman can help ensure Florida State doesn't dominate on the perimeter.

FACTS & FIGURES

The teams have combined for 322 points in their last five meetings; they combined for only 132 in the previous five matchups. ... Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher is 5-0 against in-state teams — Florida, Miami and South Florida — since taking over for Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles have scored at least 21 points in each of those five games and haven't given up more than 19 in any of them, winning by an average of nearly 17 points. ... Miami has two running backs with more than 400 yards so far this season, with Duke Johnson (428) and Mike James (402).